Chinooks help Oilers clinch ABL playoff spot

Chinooks help Oilers clinch ABL playoff spot

The Peninsula Oilers officially clinched a playoff spot in the Alaska Baseball League postseason Tuesday night without ever taking the field.

The Oilers (15-29) ended their regular season Sunday with a doubleheader split with the Anchorage Bucs, but were left to rely on the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks losing one of their two remaining games to sew up the fourth and final ABL playoff spot.

The Chinooks lost 4-1 Tuesday to the Mat-Su Miners, officially ending their playoff hopes. The Chinooks (13-29) are mathematically eliminated and can not catch the Oilers in the ABL standings. The Bucs (29-14) sit atop the board as the No. 1 seed for the Top of the World Playoffs and will get the Oilers in the first round semifinal series. The other semifinal series will feature the No. 2 Anchorage Glacier Pilots (26-18) and the No. 3 Miners (25-18).

A win for the Chinooks on Tuesday would’ve kept the drama going as Chugiak-Eagle River was able to pass the Oilers in the standings with two straight wins, but Oilers head coach Kyle Brown said Sunday that the team would have argued for a July 23 rain-cancelled game between the Chinooks and Bucs to be made up. With the lost game taken off the schedule, the Chinooks have one less regular-season game played.

More in Sports

tease
Saturday: Seward girls, Ninilchik boys win Homer Winter Carnival

The Seward girls and Ninilchik boys basketball teams won the Homer Winter… Continue reading

tease
Brown Bears trade overtime victories with Ice Dogs

The Kenai River Brown Bears split a North American Hockey League Series… Continue reading

tease
Friday hoops: Nikiski girls, Kenai boys get conference wins

The host Kenai Central and Nikiski basketball teams split Peninsula Conference games… Continue reading

Most Read